Alone Never More
by feathered moon wings
Summary: After a year of imprisonment there are a lot of things Tim has missed, most of all he just wished he hadn't been alone for so long. If only he could stop feeling alone now that he's back. ("Let's get tattoos." Said Tim. "What?" Jason asked eyes wide. "Let's get tattoos. Right now. Tonight." He sounded determined.) Some things have changed.


**Abril: This happens like a month after Tim returns from Oz's prison.**

* * *

 **Prompt: Let's get tattoos together.**

"Seventeen-year-old Timothy Jackson Drake is getting drunk off his ass. Now I just _know_ the end of the world is near." Jason landed on a high roof where his adoptive brother sat, a bottle concealed inside a paper bag, his Red Robin suit nowhere in sight.

"Go away Jason." He gave a gulp to the bottle and ignored the man with the red helmet and guns strapped to his hips.

"I thought you liked me Timber." Jason said cheerfully, fake-offended with a hand to his chest. He took off his helmet, his face was maskless.

"Whatever." Tim sighed, not looking at his adoptive brother "And I'm eighteen, I _did_ grow older this past year, you know?"

Jason's eyes sadden at the offhand comment. The absence of Tim never far from the thoughts of the bats. Red Hood sat beside the teen and both shared a moment of silence until the elder spoke again.

"Tell me all about it." He said.

"There's nothing to tell Jay." Tim took another swing of his bottle, making a face as he did.

"You spent almost a whole year imprisoned. I bet there's a lot to tell." Jason prompted again; on his lap rested his helmet, he was leaning on it.

"Nothing that I want to remember, that's for sure." Tim retorted with a scoff.

Jason's wondered when their roles had been reversed. It seemed the most unlikely thing to happen, that he was for once the levelheaded one and Tim was unstable; Tim denied help as Jason offered it.

"Tim…" He tried.

" _No_! No Jason. I don't want to talk about it. I spent a year talking to myself about it, thinking about it, dreaming about it, living it…. I _don't wan_ t my life to spin around my imprisonment anymore.

Jason kept silent as he looked at the boy. He seemed so young still, even though he wasn't. There had always been something young to Tim, despite all his serious demeanor, despite all he had experienced.

Timothy still wouldn't look at him, his gaze lost on the skyscraper tops, the thousand lights in Gotham's dark.

"It's like nothing has changed." Tim whispered in a rough voice "It's always there everything I do, everything I see, everyone…. It all just reminds me about my time in that cell. I _still_ feel so alone and hollow." He scrubbed his hand over his face "And-and cold. God it was always _so cold_."

Jason placed an arm around him and drew him to his chest, Tim's head by his neck and collarbone. Tim took a swing from the bottle and then the older man took it from his hand; taking a swing of his own.

"Fuck you…" Tim murmured.

"What did I do now?" Jason asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you that I didn't want to talk about it." Tim complained with a small pout on his lips.

"You actually told me there was nothing to tell." He joked, lightly ruffling the youngers' hair.

"Fuck off."

"You certainly returned with a bigger mouth." Red Hood noted with a laugh.

They stayed as they were, silent in the busy city, Tim quite content to under Jason's arm.

"Jay." Tim said.

"Hmm?" Answered the older brother, wishing he hadn't forgot his lighter by the bed in his apartment.

"Let's get tattoos." The ex-Robin said plainly.

"What?" Jason asked incurious, Tim sitting straight and looking him in the eyes.

"Let's get tattoos. Right now. Tonight." He sounded determined.

"What's gotten into you?" Jason asked puzzled.

Timothy stood up and crossed his arms. He swayed lightly and for a moment Jason notes that he has no gear on him and that if he fell it would _not_ end well.

"I had an awful lot of time to think this past year. Some of that time I spent thinking that I would never get a tattoo because I would never have the choice." Tim explained with a frown on his face, looking down at the street.

"I don't remember you ever wanting to have one." Jason remarked casually.

"Well, I want one now." He looked at his brother, driven in his response. "Let's go get some Jay, you and me."

Jason smirks but keeps his mouth shut at the accidental innuendo, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"You're drunk Babybird. You'll regret this later." Jason leaned back on his hands, Tim towering over him even in his small statue.

"Jason the fact that I'm not at 100% has never hindered my ability to make important decisions. In fact, I like to think that's one of my best qualities." Tim was serious on the matter.

"I won't argue with that." Red Hood stood up, helmet under his arm.

"And Jay, don't you know?" Tim looks at him with a devious smile "Most of my choices? I _definitely_ regret them."

Jason laughed hard and fully.

"So, we're getting tattoos?" He asked.

"Hell yeah we're getting tattoos." Tim grinned from side to side.

Jason was not a betting man, but he would be willing to bet that this was his brother's first full smile since he had returned.

* * *

"You know, we should've thought about what we wanted before coming here." Jason commented as the stood staring at the multiple options in the book of samples.

"I am drunk." Tim excused himself as he took a swing from his bottle.

"Yes, I said that too. You didn't listen to me." The muscled man retorted, his civilian clothes in place.

Tim sighed and ruffled his messy hair. He looked at the man who would tattoo them as he waited for them with a magazine in his hands.

"Well, is there anything you want?" Tim asked, his breath stinking of alcohol.

"I don't know. Honestly, I never gave that much thought to getting a tattoo." Jason crossed his arms "There even was that one conversation with Bruce about disowning me if I did." He said thoughtfully, turning a page to look at more samples.

"You think he'll be mad at us?" Tim's eyes went sad at the thought; the wish to please the man had never fully left him.

"Don't know what he'll think, don't care. Do you?" Jason asked, his eyes serious as they bore into Tim's own.

"… I do not." The drunk teen deadpanned, decided.

"Atta bird." Jason slapped his back and his brother smiled at him, "Now leave me alone for a few minutes, I gotta think. If I'm going to make a permanent mistake I rather it be a good one." As he walked away towards the plastic chairs by the front door he mumbled "I have to check my app of book notes."

Tim looked at the options. As he turned a new page he cooked his head to the side. The samples were bird themed; of all kinds, in flocks and alone, feathers, cages. Tim sighed as he thought on what he had wished for the most this past year.

His biggest desire had been surprisingly, not to be rescued, but to not be _alone_. At the time he wouldn't have cared who gave him company, he had been desperate for it. But he had missed his family the most: the weight of a hand on his shoulder, the sound of other people's voices, the feeling of simply being in a room with someone other than himself.

He still felt alone at times, too often for his comfort. He felt stupid and as if he had betrayed the family somehow, why couldn't he just be happy to be back?

He didn't want to feel alone anymore. He wanted his family, his friends, Steph…

A few minutes later Jason walked back towards him.

"I'm ready, you?" Jason asked, his phone in hand.

"I know what I want." His eyes were solemn as he looked at the pages.

* * *

"Damn." Jason mumbled as he lay on the slab "Here goes nothing." Tim laughed youthfully at him "The shit I do. Only for you Babybird, only for you." Jason scowled at him with only annoyance and a dash of anger.

"I love you too, Jay." Jason smiled back at him, now a confident glint in his eyes.

The high pitched drill of the tattoo machine filed the shop, and despite all the pain Jason was used to endure at nights for the most outrageous things, he sucked in a breath when the needle pierced his skin.

"Shakespeare, hu?" Tim commented after a while, leaning on the other side of the slab so he wouldn't bother the artist. The words were beginning to take for on his brother's skin.

"The Immortal Bard." Jason said reverently; half-joking, half-serious. Wincing slightly as the needle hit a bit of overly sensible skin.

"It fits you." Tim told him.

"It does, doesn't it?" Jason grinned. "Man I'm loving this. I seriously don't know why I had never thought of this before."

"That smells like trouble." The youngest laughed as he read.

 **HAMLET: O fuck.**

 **(** _ **Exit HAMLET**_ **)**

Jason lay on his left side as the tattoo artist worked the quote on his ribs.

Taking a step to the side, Tim stumbled drunkenly.

"You should probably stop drinking Timber, or you know, sit down before you fall and stab yourself." Jason said jokingly, but his words were laced with worry for his brother.

"You're probably right." He smiled impish, sitting on the other slab but taking another drink from the bottle. "This thing's awful." He declared, looking at the beverage. He swung again but lowered it in a moment, shaking the bottle in the paper bag a bit "Aaaand it's over. That's karma for talking bad about it." The teen grimaced.

Both boys laughed and fell silent.

As the tattoo artist finished with Jason, Tim took his shirt off and laid down on his stomach.

"So, what did you decide?" Jason leaned beside the younger, careful with his newly scared side.

Tim looked at him, his eyes a bit sad.

"I don't want to be alone anymore." Tim's words were quiet, but his eyes were big and honest, they were in pain as he looked at Jason, as if trying to make the man understand.

"You'll never be alone again Tim, not if I can help it." Jason ruffled his locks softly, letting his hand rest on the others head. "I'm here for you, and so are the others. And if the ever forget that you need them, don't worry, I'll _make_ them remember."

Tim placed his hand on his brother's forearm.

"Thank you."

It was a strange occurrence, for both of them to get along so well with one another, not _this_ well. Perhaps that last year had not only changed Tim.

* * *

When the tattoo artist finished his last details, Jason examined Tim's upper back. His eyes widened slightly.

"Tim… it's us?" Jason asked.

"Yes." Tim's voice was soft as he said this.

On his scared and pale back was a wire full of bird silhouettes; all variations in size and form. Jason looked at them and he could tell for the most part which was whom from the family of bats.

In the center, the only bird with features; a smallish thing with thin legs and a red splatter on it's chest, looking straight out.

The vigilante ghosted his fingers over the center bird, then smiled as he looked at the biggest bird at the end of the wire, separated from the rest but on the lookout for them.

"Is that lone, mean looking bird supposed to be Bruce?" The vigilante asked with a chuckle.

"They're silhouettes Jay, how would you even know if it's mean looking?" Tim asked, hiding a smile.

"Well, is he?" Jason pressed.

"Yes." Tim whispered with a slurred giggle.

"I'm sure that pea sized bird is supposed to be Damian." Jason grinned like a maniac "Oh I can't wait for him to see it."

"Sure." Tim said sardonic "But just to be sure, let's first wait for the thing to scar all right, okay? I really don't want a well-meaning Damian to pat me on the back."

On the post less wire on Tim's back, nine birds sat inconspicuous, all making company to one another.

As the brothers exited the tattoo shop, Jason gripped Tim's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Come on Tim, let's go home."

* * *

 **Abril: This prompt was given to me by** _ **Shadow-ying**_ **, in our constant challenges to keep writing, cheers my friend.**

 **At the beginning I was really liking this but now I'm not so sure :/ Now before you judge me I do know the exact procedure of how tattoos are applied so this might not be accurate.**

 **Now, I'm very sure I made the right choice for Jason's tattoo but not quite sure about Tim's. Tell me what you think and also ¿What kind of tattoos do you think they would've got?**

 **I know this is oc-ish, so, sorry about that.**

 **Also, the nine birds stand for: Tim, Dick, Steph, Jason, Damian, Alfred, Cass, Barbara and Bruce (not in that order).**


End file.
